The present invention relates to a device for teaching the reading and playing of music, and more particularly, to a device for an aid in teaching a student to play "on beat".
One of the most difficult aspects of music relates to playing "on beat". This is a problem in playing all instruments, whether a melody instrument, such as a clarinet or trumpet, or a rhythm instrument, such as a bass or drum.
A musical beat relates to the timing of notes. In order for two or more musicians to play a piece of music in a harmonious and coherent manner, each must play the notes designated for his instrument at the precise instant in time set forth in the sheet music or designated by the musical director. Moreover, even when a musician plays solo, he must follow the beat for each melody note, to avoid distortion, and even loss of recognizability of the tune.
A song or other musical piece is divided time-wise into a series of sections of equal time periods called measures or bars. Each measure, in turn, is divided into a series of equally spaced time intervals of alternating "upbeats" and "downbeats". A conventional method for a musician to "keep time" is to move his foot up and down in a regular rhythm. Each time his foot taps the floor, a "downbeat" is said to occur. Each time his foot reaches an apex before returning for the next downbeat, an "upbeat" is said to occur.
A composer or arranger uses conventionally recognizable symbols to indicate to each musician when he is to play each note relative to the downbeat and upbeat. For example, the conventional symbols would indicate whether a note is to be played on a particular downbeat or on a particular upbeat, or at what point in time it is to be played between such beats.
Accordingly, in attempting to play "on beat", a musician reads the timing symbols for a note and then tries to play the note at the precise time indicated in the music. However, until the student is so proficient at reading music that he is said to be a "sight reader", he must slowly analyze each measure of written music to determine when each note is played relative to the up and down beats. Because much modern music, whether rock and roll or jazz, as well as classical music, such as symphonic or the like, has extremely complicated timing, it is very difficult to learn when a note is to be played relative to the downbeat or upbeat. For example, in so-called syncopation, a note that is to be sustained for one or more beats might begin on an upbeat rather than on a downbeat. This is very confusing to a beginner. Moreover, an even greater difficulty occurs in trying to apply such timing to an actual playing situation. The beginning musician has great problems in coordinating what he reads with the actual playing of the instrument.
Because of the aforesaid problems, it is difficult for a student to comprehend what a teacher is trying to teach concerning "beat", and even more difficult to put such concepts into practice. Moreover, even when the student believes that he understands the beat, it is difficult for him to test himself to be certain that he is producing the beat according to his understanding.
Furthermore, because of the difficulty involved, a student takes a far longer time than is desirable to learn how to play on beat. Moreover, because the learning process is so frustrating, the student often loses interest, and as a result fails to give the effort necessary to learn to play in a proper beat.